Practice How Much is right amount?

Got out to practice today. Set up my imitation 3d deer from Cabelas. Set a 20 yard shoot to start. Also set up a 30 yard stick so now we can shoot even further from the deer. Now for my first question. How much do you shoot each day to get back into the groove? I shot really badly at first then everything started to click where I was hitting the target. On my last round I hit the target with all of my arrows, and had 2 in the scoring ring. Figured tomorrow I would also try to shoot from the 30 yard marker. How much time should I spend shooting from each marker each day?

I end up probably averaging twice a week. I shoot a couple of 5-6 arrow volleys at 20yds just to warm up; then unless I'm at an indoor range where I can't move back at the time I'll shoot the rest from 25 to 35. I rarely shoot more than 50-60 arrows or so at a time. I'm primarily a hunter so I'm not training like a big time competitive shooter. My first 3D shoot of the year I skipped one of the back of a bedded sheep, another I took a high 5 (still can't judge distance worth a ); and all the rest were 8's, 10's or 11's so that gives you an idea of what kind of a shooter I am - if you are looking to be a serious competitor you shouldn't use me as an example! .

I practice about 5-6 days per week. I only discovered archery a couple years ago and I enjoy competitive target shooting so I am trying to get to be a good archer in a short amount of time. Right now is indoor season so that's what I am doing. I shoot 2 5 spot leagues and since I am not able to get to the range as often as I would like, I have a target set up at 7 yards in my basement that I shoot on the days when I am not at league or able to get to the range. I focus on form and shot execution. How long my sessions are varies. Last night I only shot for a half hour. I was shooting good and for some reason started to feel my bow arm getting tired and I was struggling to hold it up so I quit. I always end on a good shot too. My getting tired could have had something to do with the fact that I took 2 days off from shooting and I carried a 1 year old around most of the day yesterday. Anyway, there will be no more days off for this week unless something unforseen happens. Since last night was a short session, tonight will most likely be closer to an hour or hour and a half. I alternate short and long sessions. Some days I will shoot all afternoon if I have the time. I'm always shooting with a purpose too. If you are going to shoot a bunch, make sure you are not overbowed. Let your body tell you when to stop and stretch before shooting.

It's not necessarily about how much you practice but how you practice. Set some goals for your practices, like working on not grabbing the bow or pulling through the shot, and work on perfecting your form and shot execution and quit if you find yourself getting sloppy. You might even keep a journal of your practicing to track how you did with your goals and what you need to work on next time. To steal a quote from Vince Lombardi, "Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect."

SuperMag I would Love to shoot with you sometime. Maybe we can hook up sometime and you can help me since I have had no formal training in shooting a Recurve Bow! Sure wish you werent so far away in Nebraska. The reason I am asking about the amount is because I want to become good at shooting, but I also am a little competitive. One of my problems in getting to shoot everyday is going to the gym. I work out at the gym every night except sunday. Plus there are times when I get off late and then like tonight it got dark on me. I want to use my backyard to do most of my practicing. But I have 3 dogs and they are all a pain. If I am out they want to be out. So therein lies part of my problem. The other is the most distance I can shoot is about 30 yards. My backyard isnt so big. I have also heard of making my targets smaller. Like milk jugs, and water bottles. If I could shoot either of these I do believe I would be a good if not GREAT SHOT! Thank You all for trying to help me.

About the closest I make it to shoot in your direction is Big Indian Archers in Wymore, NE. If you get the chance, it would certainly be worth the trip to shoot one of their shoots (the one on labor day weekend is huge for just being a club shoot).

It's always hard finding time to practice, that makes it even more important to make that practice time quality practice time. Since you're shooting a recurve, 30 yards it plenty (you'll probably never have to shoot farther than that in a 3D tournament anyways). If you're just getting started, stay close to the target and work on getting good close and work your way back. It might take some time before you're keeping them all on the target at 30 but it will come. I would recommend you check out the Masters of the Barebow series. I have heard great things about it but haven't had the chance to watch it myself.

BTW, since you're an instinctive (I'm assuming) recurve shooter, you'll have a hard time finding people that can probably give you good coaching advice. What works for one guy, might not work for the next and most of the time you're just going to have to find what works for you (a good example is the variety of ways and combinations of ways people aim w/o sights). One thing I can recommend for you to work on is finding a good, repeatable anchor point and work on always releasing from that anchor point.

Thank You all for your GREAT ADVICE!! Especially you Supermag. I will most definently start getting my routine for each and every arrow I shoot. This way I can start getting CONSISTENT! Hopefully the consistency will be in getting good or even GREAT SCORES!

being a part time recurver I also would recomend the MBB series of CDs. There is a wealth of info in them. You can apply what you want or what suites your needs. Being realistic as for hunting, I have never shot a deer over 25 yards with any type of bow since 1975. If you can practice out to 30 yards, I think your going to be fine. Most animal encounters in my neck of the woods end up much closer. This years deer was less than 5 yards away but almost under me. Don't overlook or underpractice for a close shot. Sometimes they're harder than it seems.

I have read everyones responses and found that I need to practice at least every other day. Plus starting up close 10 yards and then moving back cost me 2 arrows. I cant get the the arrow to do what I want as in striking my innards of my fake deer. When I shoot from 20 yards. I hit 2 out of 3 arrows. Someone explain this to me Please!

You're most likely not being consistant with your form or anchor point. You could be tightening you grip when you release, dropping your bow arm to "try and see" where the arrow went, jerking when you release - there are a bunch of possibilities. I don't shoot instinctive and there may be some special things you can do wrong especially with that as well It would be helpful if you could hook up with an experienced recurve/longbow shooter.

There are a couple potential reasons that you're arrows are shooting better at 20 than 10 yards. First and most probable, your arrows aren't exactly right for your setup and the fletchings can't get them stabilized by 10 yards but can by 20. This is fairly common these days when not many shops know how to help someone select an arrow for a finger shooter, much less a recurve finger shooter. Then there is also the fact that to get an arrow exactly right for a finger shooter, you've got to have great repeatable form (not easy as you know) and then spend a ton of time playing with different lengths and point weights to get it perfect.

Another potential reason for this might be how you shoot. If you're actually shooting more gap or point of aim than instinctive, 10 yards maybe too close to keep your aiming point close to where you want to hit (I'm guessing you're shooting high at 10 yards). If you've started at 20 already and have your mind sighted in for 20 then that makes it harder to shoot at 10. Tips for shooting close with point of aim include making sure you're anchored solid (no facewalking down) and keeping your head position consistant and then aiming a bit lower than you want to hit.

If you're more comfortable shooting at 20 than 10, keep shooting at 20. You might want to build some sort of backstop behind your target to help catch any misses (knowing that missing won't cost you any arrows will help you a bit).

The MBB series is masters of the bare bow series of CDs. ThreeRivers Archery or Lancaster Archery both online, will have them. Some of the most respected archers have put together a how-to on shooting all kinds of tradional equipment and the various aiming methods used. To get a small idea, go on youtube and type in the masters of the bare bow, you'll find clips advertising the series.

Rick... I have some info that might help you understand and get a griop on what you are trying to accomplish... contact me privately at jackbthomas857@gmail.com and I will email you some unpublished articles that I have just written. I am an old NFAA Barebow competitor with State, Region and National titles... a former JOAD Instructor. I think I can help you with your scoring consistency... it is probably more mental than physical (smile).

I'm from Vermont but don't want to have to stop all winter because I'm just barely learning with my bow, but I'm not sure if there are any indoor archery ranges. My work shifts are crazy and between that, weather and running training I can't shoot every day but if I go 3-4 days without shooting I get really rusty. Does having a week without practice (for travel, work schedule,etc) get less detrimental when you have more experience and better muscle memory? I really like my new bow so I like to practice as much as possible but right now I can shoot only about 55 arrows per session or my arm shakes all over the place. Thank you,
Howlindawgs (6 dogs at our house!)

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